Hello everyone! I'm in a pickle, mostly with myself. I'm wanting to be a veterinarian, and I couldn't see myself doing anything else, but there's a slight problem, well to me anyway. To become a vet, it's about 8 years of college, or that's the number produced from research and what my student adviser has told me. But, the salary in the end isn't very impressive, I know it isn't all about money but to pay off loans for almost a decade in school, money would be preferred. Competition is also rough getting into the schools and classes you want/need and I'm not quiet sure what to do now.
I'm graduating high school soon and I've completed my Agriculture classes, competed in FFA contests for scholarships, wildlife classes, advanced animal science, veterinary application classes, medical terminology and so forth just to be prepared for college but I'm not sure if it's worth it.

In the end, if you can make enough money to live on, pay the bills and put aside a little bit every month, then having a job that you enjoy going to every day is far, far more important than the dollars. Only you can decide that.

If you do decide to go through the education, living inexpensively and counting your dimes as you go through school will help you in the long run as well. The less debt you accumulate in the first place, the easier it will be when you are finally paying it off.

Also, just because you go through for "verterinarian," doesn't mean that's the only option. And it doesn't mean you have to work at a verterinarian clinic. If you stay in that field, you could end up running your own clinic, or you could work in any field that needs animals -- entertainment, education, training, competition. There are probably lots of side vocations that the vet training would be required in, or a huge asset.

I honestly don't want to give up being a vet, I've always wanted to be one and I want to fulfill my dream, but I honestly can't afford 8 years of college. The only way it could be possible would be through a ton of scholarships, part-time jobs, loans, and whatever else I can scrape up. Money is basically my whole problem, will I be able to afford to pay off the student loans once I become this, or will there even be a spot available for me to begin working? I know no one can really say, but I'm just wanting someone else's opinion of the possibility or other options. I'm pretty much just panicking.

In Canada, there are some programs to help young people, especially the unemployed to improve their education. Is there anything like that in your area? Some programs are designed for right out of high school, some are geared to young workers that are unable to improve without education, some are geared to newly unemployeed people.

I have no idea, Texas isn't very helpful. TAMU is raising their tuition $2,000 a year until the fall of 2015. I'm going to try and get residency in another state when I decide that's the college I want to attend.

I am dealing with the same problem. I'm currently in college and when I was in my senior year I applied like crazy for scholarships. I've been planning on going to veterinary school since the second grade haha. It is all I've ever wanted to do. Anyways, to prepare for admission I did a lot of volunteer work, paid work, joined several clubs (science olympiad, scholastic bowl, chinese club, ect.), and kept my grades really high. This helped out with the scholarships. I received 6 scholarships. This combined with my FAFSA money more than paid for my entire first year. I have leftover money for next year. :)

I forgot to mention I also had an interview at a local equine hospital last week for a vet assistant position. I'm still waiting to hear back from them. You should start building relationships with people in the field now. They are very useful for recommendation letters when you go to apply for vet school.

I'm pretty active in the extra curricular activities, my high school unfortunately doesn't offer much. I called a local vet because they were hiring kennel help, but they had said the position was filled, but the ad has continued to show up in the paper 2 weeks later, so I'm not so sure. The vets or any one for that matter, are pretty rude and don't want high school kids working there, not sure why. I've offered to help at farms and ranches and even my Ag teachers. I was hoping I'd be able to raise an animal for show and try to get some profit for school, but a series of events prevented me from even trying to buy an animal. I still honestly don't know what college to attend for anything, let alone a Vet Med grad school. It's so confusing and stressful.

Great advice from Ninja. Work hard, have high grades, & build relationships. I've never met a $Poor$ vet. Most have loved their jobs. Be the best vet you can be & you'll never be poor. You can work anywhere & wouldn't it be great to be wanted? I rented a house to a vet for a couple of years, then she had enough to go buy her own place-she was a small animal vet, but she did have a couple of horses at my place once she settled in. She probably did their vet work herself, unless a surgery might be needed.

If a vet is 1/2 way decent I doubt they would be on the lowest rung of earnings.

I wouldn't call. It is too easy for them to turn you down then. I would go in and ask. If they say no again, I would ask about shadowing or volunteering. I had a hard time getting any positive answers when I called. As for the money problem, could you go to a community college for your prerequisite classes? As long as you make sure they transfer to your choice college you will be fine. It isn't as much fun as going away to school, but it is a fraction of the cost. It would also give you a chance to build better relationships with your local vets. They want someone that is available when they need them.

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